Side Dish Showdown: May Round-Up

It’s time for another Side Dish Showdown round-up! And with another big turn-out so I’ll get right down to business.

First up is Angie from Angie’s Recipes who made Zucchini Fritters. The Zucchini sticks are seasoned with flour, paprika, salt, pepper and then fried to a crispy golden brown. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce.

Next up is Stacia from The Domestic Engineer who made this Roasted Red Pepper and Mushroom Risotto. It was Stacia’s first time making risotto and she says “The recipe was a total success. My wrist was getting tired of the stirring by the end, but it was worth it. This recipe makes a great side dish, and makes a lot. The beauty of it is that I have leftovers!”

Dajana of Baker’s Corner… somewhere in my kitchen made Easy Cheese and Potato Balls. Dajana says “These little cheesey balls, instead were quite appreciated. They’re are just lovely and taste great. They are soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Accompanied with some Greek yogurt they taste fresh , perfect as finger food, a warm appetizer or as a side dish. I prepared them at lunch time, but since I was alone, I baked only one part and put the rest in the fridge. I baked and served them in the evening, as a side with grilled pork chops.”

Kathy from Are You Hungry? made a Cheesy Spinach Casserole. Kathy says “My family always detested cooked spinach. Cooked spinach always returned the common spinach objection, Eeeewwww it’s so slimy! I learned two things; never tell them in advance your serving cooked spinach, and two, ingredients that counter “slimy” are required.” Kathy also says this is a “Very nice side dish and another cooked spinach hit!”

Tigerfish of Teczcape: An Escape To Food made two side dishes for this round. The first is a Bitter Melon Tomato Curry. Tigerfish says “Tomatoes give this dish tangy flavors: so if tangy is what you love, I don’t see why you don’t enjoy this…unless you seriously dislike bitter melon. It is an acquired taste. I enjoyed bitter melon even when I was a kid (I must be one of those few). And somehow because of the tomatoes, the bitterness is subtly masked. I made this bitter melon dish the same way I made this okra, using some of my favorite spices.”

Tigerfish’s second dish is this Chayote (Chokos) Cabbage with Willow Mushrooms. Tigerfish says “This dish definitely has more bite due to the tender-yet-crunchy cabbage, chayote and willow mushrooms. The beef flavor has subtly been absorbed by the vegetables, so while you chew on the vegetables, you taste the natural sweetness and a tinge of savory beef. See what you can accomplish without oyster sauce? Wonders.”

Christine of Fresh Local and Best made Sauteed Artichokes in Lemon Parsley Sauce. She was inspired after driving past “fields of bushy green artichoke plants. It was a breathtaking sight, miles and miles of maturing buds ready to be harvested. It was just the inspiration I needed to jumpstart my work on this thistle vegetable.”

Debbi of Debbi Does Dinner…Healthy & Low Calorie made Quinoa with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Corn. Debbi says “Got some quinoa? And some sun dried tomatoes? Make this side dish. It’s awesome. It’s a little spicy so tame the heat if you’d like but I liked it. And I’m typically not a super spicy person. Many different flavors and textures that went super together. I liked it more and more with every bite.”

Carla and Michael from Recipe Addict cooked up a Risotto with Spring Greens. Carla says “Michael was making simple herb roasted chicken with the herbs we grow in our garden, so I wanted something to compliment it. I thought this risotto I had marked in the June 2009 issue of Oprah Magazine sounded perfect.”

Chaya of My Sweet and Savory made Herbed Cashew Rice with Dried Apricots. Chaya says “These days, my cooking world, is all about Mark Bittman. Using any of his books or his online recipes is a delight. So when, cashews came up, I went right to Mr. Bittman and found this delicious brown rice recipe. It was a hit.”

Chaya made two dishes for her Comfy Cook blog. Her first is this Spiced Red Lentil Stew. Of this dish Chaya says “Red lentils are more like a peach color or tangerine but for me, and they are pretty. Everything in this recipe, except the onions is a shade of orange, carrots, butternut squash, turmeric and cumin.”

“This is a great recipe and I would guess, you can play around with it. I picked the vegetables, I wanted but I could see cut up zucchini or eggplant, giving it a whole different taste.tomatoes with the eggplant… It is all up to the imagination and creativity. What about dried fruit, raisins, apricots, dried pineapple or real fruit? I am having too much fun with this.”

Kim from Stirring the Pot made Chive Salad. Kim says “Chives are probably my favorite herb and they really shine in this simple salad. A super duper light dressing is made from equal parts soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, water, a touch of sesame oil and pinch of sugar. It is a light and flavorful salad that would be a great side dish to any Asian-inspired meal.”

Maggie the Country Cook from Maggie’s Country Kitchen made a Tomato Jam. Maggie says “Never have I thought to make jam out of tomatoes! I am a tomato lover and enjoy tomatoes in many ways. I saw this recipe and thought sweet,tangy and spicy all together with one of my most favorite foods. The recipe is very EASY! I literally threw everything into the pot and left it!”

Kristin from Holy Cannoli Recipes made Stuffed Mushrooms. Kristin says “I came across this recipe and decided to give it a try. It came out really good and considering that it wasn’t fried, it still had the taste of the stuffed mushrooms I remembered as a kid. I especially liked that it was fresh and not your typical stuffed mushroom you find in the freezer section of your grocery store. It was easy to make and you can triple the recipe with no problem.”

Lauren from Healthy.Delicious. made Creamy Potato Salad, Hold the Mayo. Lauren says “I took a small nibble. And it. was.awesome. I mean, we were lucky that there was any left by the time the burgers were done – I couldn’t keep out of it! For those of you who hate mayo, this is a great substitute. Those of you that do eat mayo will enjoy it too – Shawn said that it actually tastes very similar. It’s cool, creamy, slightly tangy. The hummus flavor isn’t nearly as pronounced as you might imagine it would be, And it has a whole lot less fat (about 5 grams of fat in mine, compared to over 20 grams in traditional versions!)

Ally from My Sweet and Savory made 4 Cheese Baked Macaroni. Allly says “As I’ve said before, I only have one friend (that I know of) that doesn’t like mac-n-cheese. The shame. There is something about the cheesy goodness that just makes your day that much better. Although, I would not recommend eating this everyday…”

Yenta Mary A.K.A Food Floozie made Orange-Glazed Shredded Carrots. Yenta Mary says “It only took about 5 minutes to cook the shredded carrots in butter and orange juice, so this is a quick and easy — but delicious and festive — dish to accompany anything from beef to lamb to chicken to pork to even (gag! retch! gasp!) tofu. So, whether you need a nice salad to tote along in a pic-a-nic basket, or something fast to serve after a long day at work, or an easy side dish to make on a hot summer day, or just a soul brightener with beautiful color and festive flavor, this will solve all your problems.”

Daphne of Food Junkie From Texas made Broccoli with Balsamic Caramelized Onions. Daphne says “We eat a lot of broccoli in my house. It is one of the only green foods that my husband and son will eat (and he won’t eat that much). I know we all get tired of the boring steamed broccoli so I wanted to change things up a little. This is what I came up with.”

Shirley from Enriching Your Kid made Black Trumpet Mushroom Sago Papadums.Shirley says “If you havent tasted the sago papads yet- they have a very ‘melt in the mouth’ texture, which means you better make plenty of it to go around. I make sago papads every summer, but this flavour was truly unique!”

Jaysus from Dinner and a Concert made a Springtime Vegetable Confetti Pasta Salad. Jaysus says “This salad is really tasty and has more veggies than pasta when you finish so maybe this is a veggie salad with some pasta. All of the veggies that I list are recommended but as always if you don’t like something or thin of something else that you want to add, you are the boss in your kitchen.”

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen made Grilled Zucchini with Caprese Salad and Rocket Salsa. Deb says this “is a great side dish and a perfect way to ring in summer and liven up plain zucchini. The zucchini gets new life topped with the caprese-style salad and the peppery (from the arugula) and tangy (from the red wine vinegar and capers) salsa. (Although I do think it is actually more of a pesto than a salsa). It’s a fresh-tasting and easy side dish that pairs well with grilled meat, poultry or fish. I served it with some simple lamb patties and it made a great light dinner for a warm night. I will make this again.”

Joanne of Eats Well With Others made Lola Fries with Rosemary. Joanne served this with Grilled Hanger Steak and says it’s perfect third date food “it doesn’t hurt that he won’t be able to resist falling just a bit in love with you when he bites into this. It’s that good.”

Ana of Magic Flavors made Squash Gnocchi. Ana says “These gnocchi are made with butternut squash, rather than the more traditional potato. I finished my own with a simple butter and sage sauce. Gnocchi makes a lovely side dish, perfect with more robust meats ans seafood. If you want to serve the gnocchi up faster use more than one pot of boiling water. Of course if you have someone who can give you a hand things will go much faster.”

“These gnocchi are heaven in a bowl, velvet-like cushions to your bite and a revelation to your tongue.”

I made Garlic Bread Crusted Macaroni and Cheese with Brie.“This is a very non-traditional recipe for Macaroni and Cheese made with creamy Brie, fresh tomatoes, spinach, black olives and a crusty Garlic Bread topping. This is a bit fancier than the childhood classic. And definitely not your run-of-the-mill mac ‘n’ cheese!”

I hope you enjoyed these dishes! Follow the links to get the complete recipes.